


Can you keep a secret?

by ValeRossi1416



Category: Robotboy (Cartoon)
Genre: Bonding, Coming Out, Confessions, Family, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 15:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17004345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValeRossi1416/pseuds/ValeRossi1416
Summary: Based on a little something a friend mentioned on DIscord.





	Can you keep a secret?

The boy's mouth, Tommy Turnbull's mouth specifically fell into a frown when his best friend, Robotboy, said he didn't want to go have fun at Lola's house, where the three kids would be. He said something along the lines of feeling quite low on battery and wanting to recharge. He already had the cable in hand and everything, to further show his "need" of powering up his batteries.

"But I could bring your charger to Lola's house," Offered the kid, not wanting to leave his friend behind.

"No... want recharge here..."

Tommy raised an eyebrow, but he just shrugged it off. Who was he to force Robotboy to go anyway?

"Well, if you say so. I'll be leaving now. Be good."

"Yes, Tommy."

"Alright, see you. See you, mom."

"Have fun."

The woman was leaning on the door frame and saw their whole exchange. After her son left his room to go downstairs and then outside, she planned on simply leaving Robotboy there so he could charge in peace. But apparently, that wasn't going to happen. The little android called for her and asked if they could talk.

"But don't you need to recharge?"

"No, not needed..." Said the robot with a bit of shame, revealing to her that he had lied. He even slid down a panel in his arm to show his batteries still had enough power to have him running for hours.

"Alright... what do you need?" She asked, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Robotboy... worried. Have problem."

"And what is that problem?"

He stayed quiet for a bit, but dared to ask after a few moments. "Robotboy like boys. But, like _like_ boys. As in love. But real boys no like boys, just girls..."

_Oh._

"Maybe it software problem? Tommy could fix... Moshimo could fix. And then Robotboy be closer to real boy... but... No want like girls."

He felt silly. If he liked girls, then everything would be okay, but the thought of establishing a romantic relationship with one just felt... odd. Like it shouldn't be that way, boys seemed like a much nicer alternative. But in this whole time he's lived outside of Moshimo's lab and explored the world, he never saw such a thing as two boys being in love with each other... maybe such a thing _didn't happen_. He's the weird one. Thankfully, unlike humans, he can be programmed to be a certain way. This problem _could_ be fixed and yet... he didn't want it to be fixed.

So he just sighed. "It weird, I know... What do? Just get problem fixed?"

"No, no need for that!" She answered, a bit louder than she intended. This gained a curious beep from her robot son.

"There's nothing wrong with you. Sometimes boys do like boys. It's only natural. So don't feel bad for it."

She placed a hand on his shoulder while he stared at her with his eyes being just a little bit brighter than before. But that lasted for just a moment, as his eyes went back to a slightly duller color.

"But then, why no see them? Where are they?"

"They're all around us, believe it or not. It's just that it's not always obvious and sometimes... they hide, fearing that they won't be accepted the way they are, but hey, I accept you. Why wouldn't I?" She commented with a giggle.

"Anyway, a lot of real boys feel just like you do. Boys can like boys and girls can like girls. That's completely fine."

Robotboy now smiled at her, trusting her every word and just beaming with happiness that at least one person accepted him as who he was. Though something deep in his connections made him feel like Deb might be saying this for a reason other than to just make him feel better. There was something more to it, and even though he couldn't really put his finger on it, the question left his metallic lips before he could even think about it.

"Mom like girls?"

The question took her by surprise and she could faintly feel the redness coming to her cheeks. She rarely answered this question with honesty, but she knew there was nothing to hide after giving him a whole speech about it.

"I do. Why?"

The robot limited himself to just shrug. "Not know. But it okay. Girls can like girls." He said with a smile, proudly putting into practice what she taught him very recently. She smiled and laughed.

"Yes, that is true."

"But why marry Dwight if like girls?"

"Oh, you see," she cleared her throat, "sometimes people can like _both_ girls and boys. I'm one of those people. And I just so happened to fall in love with Dwight many years ago, even to this day I love him. Very few people know I also like girls, though."

The silver-coated sidekick adjusted his antennas a little, slightly frowning, as if he was in thought. "Mom hiding?"

She fell silent for a moment, "yes, you could say that. Not everyone approves of girls liking girls, so some of us don't talk about it. I doubt Dwight would see me as the same if he found out, which is why I never bring this subject up..."

...That was screwed up. Aren't spouses supposed to love each other so much that they simply accept their differences? That's what the little robot always saw in TV and the like. It was what Tommy had taught him! And once again, this thing that all marriages should aspire to wasn't present in Deb and Dwight's relationship. And it was so sad that the same woman who encouraged him to be who he was without fear _lived in fear_ of her family finding out. Though if he thought about it, if someone in her family were to accept her and love her all the same, that was definitely Tommy.

"Can Tommy know? Tommy no judge, he accepting."

"He doesn't know... though if he did, I agree nothing bad would happen. He is very understanding, after all."

"Mom no deserve to hide. Deserve be free to be self!" Said the robot, so convinced of this that he jumped and started floating in the air with the little flames under his feet. It was simply unfair for him to feel liberated while she didn't. He felt so much better after being open about his preference and Deb deserved to feel that way too!

She gave him a tired looking smile. "Thanks, Robotboy, but don't worry too much about me. I've done this for many, many years, I've grown used to this."

"Not fair. Robotboy tell Tommy about liking boys, Mom tell Tommy about liking girls. Win-win." He said, smiling at her.

She actually thought about it. Tommy was old enough to keep secrets safe, so nothing bad should come out of it. And Robotboy did want her to be open, just like he was going to be. She ended up agreeing with him that if he was capable of coming out to someone very important to him, then she was just as ready. She nodded and told him they'd tell him once he came back home.

And the little robot was so happy that he flew towards her to give her a big hug, one full of metaphorical warmth that she gladly accepted.

**Author's Note:**

> hi robotboy is gay and deb is bisexual have a good day


End file.
